Railway-switch.



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 8, 1906,

Application filed February '7, 1906. Serial No. 299,918.

To aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, GEORGE W. Snow, a citizen of the United States of America, and a resident of Holyoke, in the county of Hampden and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Railway-Switches, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention is comprised in a description of railway-switch .and automatic safety devices therefor in which are embodied in combination with the tongue-switch and the main-track rail a lever pivotally mounted at the side of the latter at a oint to the rear of the switch, a connection etween said lever and the switch for closing the latter on the movement of the lever, a movable member connected with and to be moved in unison with the switch, and a lock automatically 0 erative to confine said member in the position in which it is set by the closed switch.

By the employment of these devices a part or arm movably mounted on the front truck of the locomotive by being properly set will as the locomotive approaches the switch impinge against the aforesaid pivotally-mounted lever at the side of the main-track rail and insure the closing of the switch slightly in advance thereof, the arrangements being such, however, that in case it is desired that the engine and train, if connected therewith, shall move onto the siding the switch will be left open therefor.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a plan view of all of the parts and arrangements embodied in the present improvements. Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the portion of the main-track rail, the switchactuating lever pivotally mounted at the side thereof, and an operating device for such lever on an axle of the locomotivetruck. Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a portion of the device opposite and connected with the switch. Fig. 4 is a vertical section on line 4 4, Fig. 3.. Fig. 5 is a vertical section through a part of the apparatus shown Fig. 3, as seen at right angles to Fig. 4 and on the plane indicated by the line 5 5, Fig. 3.

Similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all of the views.

In the drawings, A re resents the main trackway of the railroa and B the side trackway, and 0 represents the switch of usual form.

Suitably to the rear and adjacent the side of one ofthe main-track rails is a lever a, pivlugs 20, and a block 15 is slidable horizon-- tally on said ledge, being held against dis placement laterally by the aforementioned retaining-lugs 20 and held against any tendency for vertical displacement by the horizontal members or studs 23, rigidly affixed to the casing and projecting over and closely to the top of said block. The said block 15 is made with an intermediate .a erture 22.

A rocking shaft 17 is horizonta ly j ournaled through the casing 10 and is provided intermediately with a lever-arm 24, projecting radially and downwardly and engaging in said aperture 22 of the block 15. The said rocking shaft 17, moreover, is provided at one end with a hand-wheel 14, and at its opposite end with a lever-arm 26, to which a rod 27, engaged or connected with the switch, is secured.

Located within the casing is a look '5, comprising a spring-pressed bolt 30 to be shot for projection transversely relatively to the aforementioned ledge 19 and for a locking engagement with the slidable block 15 when the block is so slid as to permit the said bolt by the action of its spring 32 to snap past its end.

The bolt is intermediately made of yoke shape, as represented at 33 in Fig. 4, and 35 represents a keyway through the casing, and 36 represents the key for withdrawing the bolt, so that its engaging end is retracted to a.

position of non-engagement with the slidable block.

m represents the front axle of a locomotivetruck, on which is seen a lever n, mounted for.

an oscillatory movement relatively to the axle, provided with a roller 0 for impingement against the aforementioned pivotallymounted lever a, and t represents a rod connected to a short arm a of the lever n, the same being understood as extended to or having connections which are accessible on:

the locomotive for positioning the lever n.

Assuming that the switch is open at atime when it is desired that the locomotive shall; proceed along the main track, all the parts of.

' movement of the lever, a movable member my device at such time being relatively in the positions shown by full lines in the draw ings, the roller of the lever a coming onto the lever a depresses the latter and through the described connections closes the switch and also causes a rocking movement to the shaft 17, so that the slidable block 15 is horizontally moved to the position represented by the dotted lines in Fig. 4, whereupon the spring-bolt snaps to engagement across its end, locking the block, the rock-shaft, and the switch therewith connected in the closed position. The switch must remain closed and locked until the key 36 in the possession of an authorized person is inserted through the keyway to engagement within the yoke of the bolt and made use of to downwardly force the bolt, so as to permit by means of the hand-wheel the reverse rocking of the shaft, the opening of the switch, and the sliding back of the block 15 to lie crosswise over the end of the depressed bolt.

When it is desired that the locomotive will proceed onto the side track, the switch of course will be opened and the lever end will be moved to and retained in a suitably high position, so as to pass free of the switch-actuating lever a.

I claim- 1. The combination with a switch-tongue, and the main-track rails, of an angular lever pivotally mounted at the side of one of the track-rails at a point to the rear of the switch, and said lever comprising a member having a position normally above the adjacent portion of the track-rail, and a depending arm, a connection between said depending arm and the switch for closing the latter on the movement of the lever, a movable member connected with and to be moved by the switch, and a lock automatically operative to confine said member in the position in which it is set by the closed switch.

2. The combination with a switch-tongue, and the main-track rails, of an angular lever pivotally mounted at the side of one of the track-rails at a point to the rear of the switch, and said lever comprising a member having a position normally above the adjacent portion of the traclcrail, and a depending arm, a connection between said depending arm and the switch for closing the latter on the connected with and to be moved by the switch, a lock automatically operative to confine said member in the position in which it is set by the closed switch, and means for moving said member and the switch to their open positions.

3. The combination with a switch and the main-track rails, of an angular lever pivotally mounted at the side of one of the trackrails at a point to the rear of the switch, and said lever comprising a member having a position normally above the adjacent portion of the track-rail, and a depending arm, a connection between said depending arm and the switch for closing the latter on the movement of the lever, a movable member connected with and to be moved by the switch, a lock automatically operative to confine said member in the position in which it is set by the closed switch, and a device adapted to be mounted on a locomotive, and movable into and out of positions for impingement against said lever, for the purposes set forth.

4. The combination with a switch and the main-track rails, of a lever pivotally mounted at the side of one of the track-rails at a point to the rear of the switch, a connection between said lever and the switch for closing the latter on the movement of the lever, a movable member connected with and to be moved by the switch, a lock automatically operative to confine said member in the position in which it is set by the closed switch, a locomotive wheel-axle, a lever mounted for an oscillatory movement thereon provided with a roller for impingement against said pivotally-mounted lever, and a rod connected to, and for positioning said oscillatory lever.

5. The combination with the switch and the main-track rails, of a lever pivotally mounted at the side of one of the track-rails at a point to the rear of the switch, a connection between said lever and the switch for closing the latter on the movement of the lever, a rocking shaft having two lever-arms, a connection between the switch and one of said lever-arms, a slidable block with which the other of said lever-arms en ages, and an automatic lock to hold said b ock and the connected switch in their closed position.

6. The combination with a switch and the main-track rails, of a lever pivotally mounted at the side of one of the track-rails at a point to the rear of the switch, a connection between said lever and the switch for closing the latter on the movement of the lever, a stationary casing opposite the switch, a horizontal shaft rotatable in said casing, having at its end outside of the casing a lever-arm, and at an intermediate portion thereof, within the casing, another lever-arm, and having also a hand-wheel, a connection between the switch and said outside lever-arms, a slidable block having an aperture within which the said intermediate lever-arms engage, and an automatic lock comprising a sprin -pressed bolt to engage the end of said bloc and to hold the latter and the connected switch in their closed positions, and said casing having a keynected with the switch, and a rod connecting 13 o,

said angular lever and the first-named lever, a casing provided with an internal horizontal ledge 19 having one or more marginal retaining-lugs 20, a block slidable on said ledge made with an intermediate aperture 22 and members 23 rovided in the casing for constraining and guiding said block, a rock-shaft horizontally journaled through the casing and provided intermediately with a leverarm 24 engaging in said aperture of the block, having at one end outside of the casing a hand-wheel and having at its opposite end outside of the casing a lever-arm 26, a rod 27 connected to the switch and to said arm 26.

and an automatic lock the bolt of which is 15 operative to confine said block and the switch in their closed position.

Signed by me, at Springfield, Massachusetts, in presence of two subscribing wit- 

